Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 08/29/2008 - 12:14
Forums
Kuril Islands Biocomplexity 08

Hey Mike!  I was just wondering if there was anybody in charge of the hole project?  Someone who would decide to go different places or change digging spots.

Ryan

Mon, 09/08/2008 - 10:10

KBP Team

Ben Fitzhugh is the overall project leader, or Principal Investigator (PI).  But most of our decisions were made in consultation with the co-PIs in the field (Jody and myself), and our Russian and Japanese colleagues.
 
There were times during the summer, however, that the team composition changed and the acting project leader would change.  For instance, during the first leg of the field season, Ben and Dr. Shubin were stationed on Ekarma Island and were not in regular contact with the rest of the research team.  In that case, Jody was put in charge of making logistics decisions, but she did so in consultation with Drs. Rybin and Nakagawa.
 
There were also situations in which I was the only one in charge, as when I had my small team out doing archaeological survey work.  Even so, most of my decisions were made after consulting with the rest of my team.
 
Finally, there were situations in which none of the scientists were in charge of decisions.  Specifically, when it came to questions of safety on the ship or in the zodiacs, we deferred to the expertise and experience of the captain and the boat drivers. 
 
---Dr. E